Where did you go to school? Our Own English High School, Dubai. I came to the United Arab Emirates before my first birthday, and have lived here ever since. Back then, there were only three schools in Dubai and Our Own was the closest to where we lived. I loved my school and was thrilled to bits when I got a chance to give back to my Alma Mater - sort of. I started my teaching career in Our Own English High School, Sharjah, but it still felt like home.

What was your favourite subject? English Literature. Books are my life. I was so inspired to write that I actually got my diploma in journalism before I even left school. Later, as I started my teaching career, I delved into the world of illustrating children’s books.

What was your least favourite? I didn’t like political science. I just couldn’t wrap my head around it.

Did you have a favourite teacher at school? Ms. Balraj. She was my English teacher, of course. The reason I liked her so much was that she was the first teacher to give us out-of-the-box assignments. She is the one who truly got my creative juices flowing and helped me believe in my abilities. I would like to thank her as she’s also the one who inspired me to become a teacher. She showed me that a teacher does not have to fit a given mould.

Were you good or naughty? I was more of a goody-two-shoes than I would like to think.

What was the naughtiest thing you did at school? I bunked class to go and sit in the school library. I was a nerd, that’s definitely confirmed now!

What’s your happiest memory from your school days? My happiest memory from my school days has to be when I took part in my first drama competition with a bunch of my classmates. It was the best because we won. We took part in a comedy and I ended up doing quite a bit of ad-libbing because I kept forgetting my lines. It was all I could do not to burst out laughing at the antics on the stage.

What about your worst one? My worst memory at school was when I got food poisoning the night before my board exams. I had to do my exams without revising... talk about scary!